Diagnostic Trouble Code Severity Filtering to Reduce Alert Fatigue

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Solution Overview

Problem

The increasing complexity of machines and vehicles leads to a high volume of diagnostic trouble codes, causing alert fatigue in operators who may overlook critical issues due to an abundance of minor alerts.

Innovation Solution

A system that selectively displays diagnostic trouble codes based on severity, allowing operators to disable future notifications for less critical codes while ensuring critical alerts are not ignored.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If all diagnostic trouble codes are displayed to operators, then complete information is provided, but alert fatigue occurs and critical issues may be overlooked

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidalert fatigue

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the display treatment of diagnostic trouble codes based on their severity level. Critical codes are displayed with high visibility and cannot be dismissed, while minor codes can be dismissed by operators. This selective differentiation resolves the contradiction by providing complete information in a differentiated manner that prevents alert fatigue while maintaining information completeness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If multiple components generate diagnostic trouble codes, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but the volume of alerts increases causing operator overload

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemonitoring coverageVSAvoidoperator workload

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by using severity levels as a filtering parameter to manage the volume of alerts. Each diagnostic trouble code is assigned a severity level (critical, minor, etc.), and the display system adjusts based on these parameters. This allows comprehensive monitoring of multiple components while reducing operator overload by filtering and prioritizing alerts according to their severity parameters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Object-affected harmful factors

If operators can disable notifications for minor issues, then alert fatigue is reduced, but important alerts might be missed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvealert fatigueVSAvoidcritical alert detection

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing diagnostic trouble codes into distinct categories based on severity levels. Critical codes are segmented as non-dismissible alerts that must be acknowledged, while minor codes are segmented as dismissible alerts. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by ensuring that operators can reduce alert fatigue from minor issues while critical alerts remain prominently visible and cannot be accidentally dismissed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12536851B2Diagnostic trouble code alert management system

Publication Date: 2026.01.27 DEERE & CO

AI summary

An alert management system and technique is provided. Substantially any diagnostic trouble code generates an alert regardless of severity. The operator is given an option to dismiss or suppress re-alert for a class of diagnostic trouble codes, such as low severity codes. Future notification of such codes can be disabled in response to a selection of the option provided.